[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariam[/name_f]. Too similar? Or could I get away with it?
(Pronounced [name_f]ROSE[/name_f]-mehr-ree and MAH-ree-am.)
If it were [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], I’d say they probably were different enough despite still sharing the same root. But for [name_f]Mariam[/name_f], I think most English speakers would say MEHR-ee-am instead of MAHR-ee-am, in which case it is pretty similar to [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]. If that’s not true where you’re from, then you might get away with it.
I guess even if people do say MEHR-ee-am for [name_f]Mariam[/name_f], as long as you used [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], you’d still be able to avoid the two getting confused?
They are too close to me, yes. [name_f]Mariam[/name_f] is the arabic variant of [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. It’s like calling your daughters [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] 
Maybe [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] and [name_f]Mariam[/name_f]?
I wouldn’t use them for siblings, because of the reasons @mccharlie gave, but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t have both names on your list for now? I mean, eventually you’ll have to narrow it down, if a baby girl comes, haha, but maybe by then you’ll have grown to prefer one over the other. (I’m hoping that’s the case with my [name_f]Eleni[/name_f] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Adele[/name_f] and [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Adele[/name_f], [name_u]Everett[/name_u], [name_f]Eva[/name_f], and [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], etc.! lol)
I say no. [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] and [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] would be lovely together
If [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] was a variation of [name_f]Mary[/name_f], I might be more iffy about it, but it actually comes from the Latin ros marinus, meaning dew of the sea, so they actually have different roots. I like [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] too, but I know several of them and it feels quite popular to me and also it’s just not [name_f]Mariam[/name_f] . . . !
Also I love other [name_f]Ros[/name_f]-/[name_f]Rosa[/name_f]- names so I do have other options . . . I just adore “dew of the sea” as a meaning!!
Thank you for the replies, I’ll keep both on my list for now and see what happens in the future.
Typically, [name_f]Mariam[/name_f] is spelled [name_f]Maryam[/name_f] to get the pronunciation you want.
Yes, the are too similar for siblings.
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] and [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] would work well.